Fatigue in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: reliability of the “Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory-Multidimensional Fatigue Scale”

Abstract

The aim of the study was (1) to translate the "Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory-Multidimensional Fatigue Scale" (PedsQL-Fatigue) into Brazilian Portuguese language and culture and evaluate its reliability and (2) to measure fatigue among patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA): (1) Translation of the PedsQL-Fatigue by two bilingual researchers; (2) Backtranslation into English assessed by the authors of the original version; (3) Pilot study with five patients followed in the Pediatric Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic and their parents; and (4) Field study and assessment of measurement properties (internal consistency, reproducibility, and construct validity). In this stage, the scale was administered to 67 patients with JIA and 63 healthy individuals, aged from 2 to 18 years old, matched by age (from 2 to 4, 5 to 7, 8 to 12, and from 13 to 18 years old). Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.6 to 0.8 for children and parents, indicating the instrument's good internal consistency. The scale's construct validity was confirmed by a satisfactory Spearman's coefficient between the PedsQL-Fatigue and the generic PedsQL 4.0 (0.840 for the children and 0.742 for the parents). Reproducibility was also adequate (0.764 for the children and 0.938 for the parents). No differences were found between the scores obtained by the JIA group and control group, though lower scores were observed among patients with clinically active JIA when compared to those without clinical activity. The PedsQL-Fatigue is a valid and reliable tool, and that can be used to measure fatigue among patients with JIA.

Fatigue in young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis 18 years after disease onset: data from the prospective Nordic JIA cohort

“…In our study, participants with active disease reported more fatigue compared to those in remission off medication or inactive disease. These results are in agreement with several other studies of JIA [14,46,50], and consistent with a large international study of about 10,000 RA participants [51]. Other studies found no significant association between disease activity in JIA and fatigue.…”

“…However, the actual numbers are not comparable as different fatigue measurements and cut-offs were used. In contrast, a Brazilian study reported no significant differences in fatigue between children with JIA and controls [46]. This study gave limited descriptive information, making further comparisons difficult.…”

Fatigue and sleep in children and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis:a cross-sectional study

“…Unlike most studies of fatigue in patients with JIA, we also assessed fatigue symptoms and fatigue severity. We measured fatigue symptoms using a validated and disease-specific questionnaire that is commonly used in studying patients with JIA (19). Besides, we have used the most common scale to measure fatigue severity because we considered that fatigue symptoms and fatigue severity may be associated with different factors.…”

“…Fatigue symptoms were evaluated with Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory-Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (PedsQL-F). PedsQL-F is a valid and reliable tool, and it can be used to measure symptom-specific fatigue among patients with JIA (19). PedsQL-F, which is an 18-item questionnaire designed to measure the child's and the parent's perception of fatigue in pediatric patients, comprises a general fatigue scale (6 items), sleep/ rest fatigue scale (6 items), and cognitive fatigue scale (6 items).…”

Tradução universal, adaptação transcultural e validação da versão brasileira da Escala Avaliação Funcional Pediátrica de Terapia de Doença Crônica: Fadiga (pedsFACIT-F)

“…PedsQL-MFS foi traduzida e adaptada culturalmente para língua portuguesa do Brasil(PAULO et al, 2015). Como ocorreu no nosso estudo, não se verificaram maiores dificuldades na compreensão dos itens.…”